by Kiru Taye
“What is going on here?” she asked as she fought the mix of emotions roiling through her.
Joshua walked past her and climbed the front steps into the house.
“There was massive flooding a few years ago,” he said. “When we started repairing the damage, it made sense to overhaul the place.”
She followed him in and discovered the extent of the overhaul. The house had been extended with more guest rooms, a bigger, more modern and open plan living space, and a front porch that gave the view of the limitless blue sea.
“Joshua, this is not Godson Villa. It doesn’t look like Godson Villa.”
“Don’t worry about the building work. It’ll look great when it’s finished.”
“But it won’t be the same house.”
“At least more people would come here now because there’ll be a place to stay.”
“Is that what this is about?” She turned to face him. “You’re turning it into a holiday destination?”
“It’s part of the plan. This area needs a boost. We need to raise more money for local wildlife conservation and also provide alternative sources of income for the locals.”
She couldn’t help the laughter that escaped. “Since when did you become an eco-warrior?”
Joshua shot her a dark look, the line of his jaw tightening.
“If you climb down from your ivory tower once in a while, you’ll notice there’s a whole lot going on around you that you don’t know about.”
His harsh words surprised her.
“You’re serious,” she said, chastised. Joshua had always been generous with his time and money. But she’d never noticed anything of this scale from him before. However, it didn’t stop her from feeling upset about all the changes to what had once been her family holiday home.
He gave a short nod. “Come. I’ll show you to your room.”
And he strode off down the white-walled hallway and up the winding staircase leading to the next level. She followed him. At the top, he stopped by a bedroom door.
“You will be in here…and I’m over there.” He pointed to a room across the hall.
“Oh. So we’re not sharing the same room.” The words were out before she could snatch them back.
“If I’d known that’s what you wanted, I would’ve been happy to arrange it. I can still arrange it.”
Her cheeks heated up.
“No, no. That’s not necessary. This room is fine,” she said in a rush of words to hide her embarrassment.
She walked into the room and pulled aside the shutters, letting in a flood of bright sunlight. A cool breeze lifted the white voile curtains. The walls had the palest shell green color, the floor paved with pale limestone tiles. White cotton sheets and a green silk quilted throw covered the bed and fluffy pillows.
A lovely, fresh room, but not the home she remembered.
Joshua turned to walk away then paused. “I’ll leave you to relax and freshen up. There are employees available to cater for whatever you want. I’ll be out for a while. I need to have a chat with the project manager but I won’t be long.”
She shook her head. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? This is all calculated. You brought me here because you knew how much it would affect me.”
“Yes, I did. I wanted you to remember and to listen. I wanted you to realize what you’d be losing and call off the stupid divorce.”
“Never!”
“Sweetheart, you’re so quick to refute. The two weeks are just beginning.”
“Why are you doing this?” she challenged. Her emotions rolled, making her feel unbalanced. It had been a long three months. And it seemed like today was only going to get worse.
“Christy, you know the reason. If you stopped long enough and thought about it hard, in your heart, you’ll know.”
“You can stop this.” She struggled to contain her anger. “You started this; you can end it.”
“I know, but I won’t.”
“You, you—” Enraged, she lifted a hand to slap him.
Joshua caught her hand midair, held it tight. Before she could react, he pushed her back against the wall, pinning her to it with his rigid body. Christy sensed every bit of him, his strength, and his physical nature that he never bothered to hide.
“I think I have the perfect answer for all your bottled-up rage,” he said as he parted her thighs with his leg.
“Move,” she ordered, her throat dry and croaky, betraying her increasing apprehension.
Joshua had it easy. He was a man at home with his masculinity. She had never been able to resist him. He could have any woman he wanted. Sometimes, she wondered if he had, especially during their separation. She shouldn’t care if he’d been with anyone else. After all, her goal was a divorce. Still, she couldn’t suppress the intensity of her feelings. Perhaps her anger and hatred drove the concentration of her emotions.
“We have to get a few things sorted out first,” he replied.
He moved closer, his body flush against hers; his chest crushed her breasts, his thighs pressed against hers. Though she wore cotton trousers and a tank top, all of him stroked her.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she pushed against him.
He didn’t budge. “Just trying to relieve some of your frustration. That’s what all your aggression has been about, isn’t it?”
“Rubbish!”
“Such vehement denial, when the evidence is so obvious.”
Her face stung with revealing heat as warm blood rose in her body. Mortified, she tried to move to shake him off, but only managed to get her body even more entangled with his.
Her breathing came in short snatches. She became more aware of Joshua, his hardness and heat.
“I hate you.” Her voice sounded strangled. Blistering white rage swept through her.
“You lie, sweetheart.”
He lowered his head, trailing his lips against her cheeks in a tormenting caress.
“You love me.”
The continued journey of his lips down her neck crippled her mind to any coherent thoughts, muting her from replying. All she could do was feel; the warmth of his breath on her sensitive skin, the sensuous brush of his tongue against her pulse point. Making her want to give in, to tilt her head back to give him more access.
Joshua was an expert at seduction. For years, he’d kept her enthralled. Once she’d tasted his passion, she’d wanted no other since.
She tried to hang on, to pull back, but his touch was sweet agony. She wanted to feel his hands everywhere, despite everything.
In this exact manner, she’d given herself over to him the first time, in a haze of passion. She’d been foolish and innocent. Never again.
Fighting back the tears that threatened to spill, she lifted her foot and stamped on Joshua’s with the heel of her shoe.
He cursed, loosened his grip on her arms, and stared at her.
Heart racing, she tried to catch her breath and get a grip of her emotions rocking about like a listless boat on the sea.
He was right. She had loved him. But he’d shattered her mind and lost her trust. And he was making it worse by taking over her family assets.
“I don’t love you,” she said, her voice roughened with the desire she hadn’t quite dampened down yet. “You were just great in bed and I confused it for affection. I don’t need you as my husband to get that.”
“Is that so? It was just sex?”
“Yes.”
“Oga, Joshua.” A hesitant female voice called out to the master of the house from downstairs.
Christy stiffened. Joshua moved back, releasing her fully.
“This conversation is not over, sweetheart,” Joshua said before strolling off down the corridor.
Chapter Five
That night, Christy didn’t sleep well. Her constant confrontations with Joshua were finally taking a toll on her physically as well as emotionally. Not that she’d been sleeping well these past months. She hadn’t realized how much she�
�d miss not sharing a bed with Joshua.
With Christy tossing and turning, the cool night breeze from the sea fluttered the curtains, ensuring she didn’t need the air-conditioner on. She tried to analyze why she was so antagonistic toward him.
In the end, she settled for the fact that part of her still cared about Joshua. Still desired him.
But she had to stick to her guns, for herself, and her family. Only a few more days with Joshua and then she’d have a lifetime without him. She could get on with her life, at last.
The next day saw the arrival of visitors to the house. Godson Villa usually saw loads of guests when her parents were in residence during the Christmas holidays. It had been part of the family ritual. Her father had a revered status as a prominent son of Nembe, an ancient kingdom of the Niger Delta, and her mother loved the entertaining. Everyone got excited about Mrs. Godson’s Christmas banquets, the most celebrated event in their festive calendar.
Christy had always watched on from the perspective of a child. Now, things were different. She was Mrs. Joshua Inemi-Spiff, expected to act as the Godson Villa hostess.
All the years of observing her mother should have prepared her. Yet, uncertainty plagued her mind. Being responsible for the Godson family traditions pulled her out of her comfort zone.
Except for her interest in the history of Nembe Kingdom, she had never really involved herself in the traditions of her people. So she couldn’t help the panic that slithered down her spine as she sat at the breakfast table with Joshua that morning.
“So, are you saying I’m going to have to host the Christmas banquet that my mother used to host?”
“Perhaps not as grand as mum’s parties, but I’d like to revive some of that old communal feast,” Joshua said, before taking a sip from his coffee cup.
“Look, Joshua. I don’t think it’s a good idea. What would be the point of me doing all that when in a few weeks’ time, I’ll no longer be your wife, and this house would cease to be part of my family’s?”
“I already promised.”
“You already promised? You can’t do that. You can’t make promises on my behalf.” Her temper rose a notch as her control slowly slipped away.
“Yes, I can. For the next two weeks at least, you’re still my wife. My wish is your command, remember?”
Okay, she’d agreed to do his bidding for two weeks so he would endorse the divorce papers. But signing her up for the Christmas feast without speaking to her first? On any other occasion, she’d tell him to go to hell. Not that Joshua had ever treated her this way before. Still, he must enjoy bossing her around like this, pushing her to see how much she would take before she crumbled and stopped fighting him.
No. She had to keep the end goal in mind.
“Joshua, you’re really pushing me.” She huffed. “What about next year? How are you going to explain my absence to them?”
She glared at him as she tried to keep her voice low, knowing that the servants were only a few meters away, probably eavesdropping.
“That’s for me to worry about.”
He held her glare, his features back to being authoritative.
“Look, I’m not asking you to do anything beyond your abilities,” he continued. “The domestic team is available to do your bidding, and the local women are here for consultation. A few of them are coming today. So have a chat with them first and see what’s feasible.”
When he said it like that, she had to agree. Not like she couldn’t plan a party. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to fill her mother’s shoes yet.
“Okay. But I’ve got to have the freedom to organize it. I don’t want you standing over my shoulders.”
“As if I would.” He grinned, lifting his brow sardonically. “You do what you need for the event. Just bear in mind tomorrow is the beach party.”
“Of course. I forgot about that.”
Every Sunday, the locals organized a party on the beach for the eleven-thousand-strong community. People relaxed, chatted, and interacted with neighbors they didn’t get to catch up with during the week. As an only child, she’d loved the events because she’d made friends with the townsfolk children.
“It should be a good opportunity for you to meet some of the people before the banquet,” Joshua said as he finished his breakfast.
Christy nodded. No harm in reacquainting herself with her people.
Their first visitors started arriving not long afterward. Despite her misgivings, Christy relaxed as they chatted with the guests.
As she observed Joshua in action, her interest piqued. To her, he’d always been the professional city shark. But seeing the way he interacted with the locals, he appeared to be very much at home in their company.
Making her feel at ease, too.
He introduced her to everyone as his wife. Her unease escalated when she began to wonder what people would think when they found out later that they’d been pretending. That they had been separated for three months and were getting divorced soon.
Things grew worse for her the next day because she had more than a handful of people to deal with. Hundreds turned up at the beach. They all referred to her as Mrs. Joshua Inemi-Spiff.
Joshua poured fuel on the fire by pulling her into his arms for a dance. Though the sun had set and there were fewer people on the beach, the music still played and the fires still burned.
He held her close, his arms wrapped around her. Gently, they swayed, his body molded to hers. For a moment, she lost herself in the feel of him, his warmth, his scent. He held her like he would never let her go. She’d loved this about him—his ability to make her feel important. Precious.
But he only acted like this deliberately to fool everyone.
Christy pulled back. “Joshua, this is not a good idea. It is one thing to pretend to be your wife, but all this physical contact and people will really think we’re in love or something.”
She curled her fingers into balls.
Joshua didn’t reply immediately; the silence stretched like an elastic string, taut and ready to snap at any moment. Christy’s nerves pulled the same way, lengthened to cracking point. The cobalt-blue night sky closed in around her, suffocating her like a blanket. She should never have agreed to come here with Joshua. But how else was she going to convince him to sign the papers?
“This isn’t so difficult,” Joshua said, finally shattering the silence. “Why do you have to make it so hard?”
“Hard? I’m making it hard?” With all the anger and shock vibrating through her, she pushed against his chest. “You marry me under false pretences, take over my family assets like they are your right, and I should make it easy for you? I should take the simple route and stay married to you so we can keep up the charade of happy families? So you can keep this status of a responsible, married man?”
Each livid word hit his chest like a punch, yet Joshua just stood there and gazed into Christy’s furious face. The moon reflecting in her brown eyes illuminated them with flecks of gold and copper, bright and intense, like the flames of the camp fires lit on the beach.
He took in her anger, let her fury wash over him. He could handle it. He’d stood with her when she’d fought her battles for freedom against her father. There’d been times when he’d fought those battles in her place, shielding her from the fallout. As a result, he knew all her tactics, strengths, and weaknesses. In some ways, he knew her better than she knew herself.
“I want my life back. I’m tired of fighting with you,” she said while jabbing his chest with her finger.
“Cancel the divorce, and I’ll make it all stop.”
“I can’t believe you just said that.” Christy staggered backward with a sharp intake of breath.
“I did. Let’s start over. No divorce…. A fresh start.”
“For whom? You?”
“For both of us, and your parents. Do you know how happy they’ll be if they know that we’ve worked things out and are back together?”
“This is blackm
ail.” Christy shook her head, her expression injured as she continued to move backward. She turned and started walking back up the shore toward the house.
“If you look at it like that.”
Joshua followed her. By the boundary wall of the house, he caught up to her, reached out, and placed his hand on her bare shoulder.
He watched as she struggled to regulate her breathing; her breasts rose and fell in her sleeveless sundress. She shivered, her body trembling. He should have been affected by her body’s quake. Still, nothing within him responded. His heart lay shrouded in hard frost. He wasn’t going to let her off now. He knew exactly what he had to do.
Christy was his wife. His family. She had to remain his. The only way he could save his sanity.
She tried to move away.
“How do you look at it?” she spat out.
“Saving our marriage.”
She hated him. He knew she hated him because he wasn’t letting her get her own way. But she was still attracted to him. Still responded when he touched her. For now, the physical attraction between them was enough.
“All’s fair in love and war,” he said without caution or care, tightening his fingers around her shoulders. His reward? Fresh fire flared in the depths of her eyes, the red-brown-gold irises dancing like a hot furnace.
“So we’re at war.”
Her voice sounded as fragile as a wine flute. He smiled because he knew how much staying calm and in control cost her. Christy loved a good fight. But he’d gradually taken away all her ammunition. She was left stranded, ambushed.
“You declared war on us, Christy.”
“You want to know the truth?”
She tilted her chin up, daring him for a response.
“Yes. Nothing less would do.”
“I trusted you, and you betrayed me.”
Her words came at him with full force, like a demolition ball knocking the wind out of him, nearly felling him on the spot. Betrayal?
“How?” he queried, his voice choked and gruff as a guilt icicle punched into his heart. Had he gotten everything so wrong?
